The Star : Kevin heads to open water after hitting barrier in the pool

BY TAN MING WAI


PETALING JAYA: National swimmer Kevin Yeap is ready to “go the distance” to qualify for the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games in August.

The 25-year-old long distance specialist has turned his attention to the 10km open water race after giving up hopes of securing qualification in his two pet events – the 400m and 1,500m freestyle.

Kevin will be among the 68 men vying for the remaining 15 berths on offer at the Olympic Qualifier in Setubal, Portugal, on Sunday.

Kevin, who has been with the national team for almost 10 years, explained that his lacklustre performance in the last two years had prompted him to make the switch.

“I’ve not been able to go any faster since 2014,” said Kevin in a telephone interview from Setubal.

“There’s no way I’m going to make the cut in the 400m and 1,500m freestyle. So, I decided to switch to marathon swimming not long ago to keep my Olympic dreams alive.

“I don’t know what my chances are here, but I have to be confident because if I don’t try, nothing is going to happen.

“After all, I’m looking beyond this week. I have come all the way to Portugal ... because it’s also part of my preparation for next year’s SEA Games,” added the Ipoh-born athlete.

Kevin, however, is not entirely unfamiliar with Open water race, having won a bronze in the event at the 2011 Palembang SEA Games – the same year that he also won the 400m freestyle title.

Kevin was once a national record holder for the 400m freestyle with a time of 3:53.26. It stood for more than two years before it was broken by Welson Sim.

His other notable achievement was clocking a personal best 15:31.67 for a creditable fifth placing in the 1,500m freestyle at the 2014 Incheon Asian Games. It was the closest he got to Jeffrey Ong's long-standing national record of 15:23.61 set at the World University Games in Sheffield, England, in 1991.

The Star : Welson aims to break Jeffrey Ong's 25-year record in France

BY LIM TEIK HUAT

Welson has a personal best of 15:35.63 in the 1,500m freestyle.

PETALING JAYA: A better-prepared Welson Sim will take a shot at erasing the oldest national swimming record held by former Asian Games silver medallist Jeffrey Ong in the 1,500m freestyle when he swims in the Mare Nostrum meets in Canet-en-Roussillon, France, on Thursday and in Barcelona, Spain, this weekend.

Jeffrey’s mark has stood for 25 years.

The 1,500m freestyle was not on the programme in the first meet of the Mare Nostrum Tour in Monaco.

Welson splashed to silver in the 400m freestyle in 3:50.66, just slightly off his national record of 3:50.40, and added a bronze in the 200m freestyle, which was won by world record holder Paul Biedermann of Germany.

The 19-year-old Welson made clear his intentions of going after Jeffrey’s record – 15:23.61 set in 1991 – by clocking a personal best of 15:35.63 at the Malaysian Open last month.

Sarawak-born Welson’s time dipped below the B Olympic mark of 15:46.79, but it’s the A qualifying time of 15:14.77 that he’s going after.

Welson is guaranteed to swim in the 200m and 400m freestyle races in Rio de Janeiro after making the A cut at the Singapore national age-group meet in March.

Welson and woman breaststroke specialist Phee Jinq En underwent a two-week training stint in Melbourne, Australia, before leaving for the Mare Nostrum Tour.

“They worked on their endurance. It was difficult to get into Australia as they have tightened their rules. China swimmers used to go there but, after the drug issues with Sun Yang (of China), Australia no longer entertains foreign swimmers,” said Paul Birmingham.

“We were lucky as I know the coach in Melbourne and we managed to get the clearance to train there. Welson trained with Mack Horton, who is the world No. 1 ranked swimmer in the 1,500m this year.

“I don’t know whether Welson can get the A time, but he has a chance to get a personal best ... then we’ll see whether it’s good enough to take him to the Olympics,” added the Australian coach.

The second leg of the Mare Nostrum will see a glittering cast of Olympic and World Championships medallists competing. They include Hungary’s Hosszu Katinka, South Africa’s Chad Le Clos and Cameron van der Burgh, Japan’s Kosuke Hagino and Britain’s Guy James.


Read at http://www.thestar.com.my/sport/swimming/2016/06/07/welson-sim-eyes-jeffrey-ong-1500-record-in-france/

The Star : Jinq En swims to historic gold in Monaco

BY LIM TEIK HUAT

PETALING JAYA: Teenager Phee Jinq En made swimming history for Malaysia after powering to gold in the women’s 50m breaststroke event at the Mare Nostrum Tour in Monaco.

The 18-year-old came out tops in a head-to-head duel with World Championship finalist Marina Garcia Urzainqui of Spain on Sunday evening, posting 31.66 to smash her own national record of 31.80 set at the World Cup meet in Dubai last November.

The Spanish swimmer clocked 32.51 for the silver. Jinq En and Urzainqui were the finalists after clocking 31.99 and 32.18 in the semi-final heat.

The 50m breaststroke is part of the Speed Tournament (also for the 50m freestyle, butterfly and backstroke races).

Jinq En is the first Malaysian to make the top of the podium in a European swimming meet and is, undeniably, delighted to go one better after taking silver in the 100m breaststroke on Saturday.

Altogether, she swam five 50m races over two days.

“I didn’t expect this timing, this was my fifth sprinting race in two days, plus I had to swim two 100m and another 200m breaststroke in the morning. So, basically I was burnt out.

“But once I put on my goggles and dived in the water, I just sprinted to the finish,” said Jinq En, the SEA Games gold medallist in Singapore last year.

There was more joy as Rio Olympic-bound Welson Sim clinched bronze in the company of world-class opposition in the 200m freestyle A final.

The 19-year-old posted 1:49.29 to take bronze ahead of South Africa’s Devon Brown, who finished in 1:49.67.

Olympic and Commonwealth champion Chad Le Clos of South Africa just beat Welson to the silver in 1:49.28.

Paul Biedermann of Germany, the world record holder in the event, took gold in 1:46.71.

Welson took silver in the 400m freestyle on Saturday.

Wong Fu Kang and Erika Kong made the B finals for men’s 100m breaststroke and women’s 200m breaststroke and finished seventh (1:04.79) and third (2:39.53).

The next two meets are in Canet-en-Roussillon, France (June 8-9) and in Barcelona, Spain (June 11-12).

The Star : Welson and Jinq En on the podium in Monaco

BY LIM TEIK HUAT

PETALING JAYA: Youngsters Welson Sim and Phee Jinq En kicked up a storm for Malaysia in their first participation in the prestigious Mare Nostrum Tour swim meet in Monaco.

Rio Olympic-bound Welson, despite feeling the effects of jet lag, snatched a silver in the men’s 400m freestyle A with an impressive time of 3:50:66 on Saturday.

It’s the second fastest time the 19-year-old has posted in the 400m freestyle. His fastest was the national record of 3:50.33 which he posted at the Singapore national age-group meet in March to dip under the Olympic A qualifying time of 3:50.40.

South African Devon Brown held off Welson on the last lap to clinch the gold in 3:49.96.

Eighteen-year-old Jinq En was not to be outdone either, making the podium in the women’s 100m breaststroke.

Jinq En clocked 1:09.18 for silver in the women’s 100m breaststroke A final behind Canadian Kierra Smith, who won in 1:08.94.

Another Malaysian swimmer, Erika Kong, was seventh in the B final with 1:13.93.

Jinq En made the A final with the fifth fastest time of 1:11.02 earlier before stepping up the pace.

Welson also swam the 100m freestyle but finished eighth in the A final in 51.16.

The swimmers made the trip to Europe three days ago and coach Paul Birmingham Thomas was pleased with their performances.

“It was a good outing for our swimmers although they’re still tired from the travelling,” he said.

“Welson’s last 200m was very strong. The goal was for him to take it a little faster on the first 200m. But he still felt heavy from travel, so we reverted to the old race plan.”

Jinq En had a heavier workload on Saturday as she took part in the Speed Tournament (only for the 50m breaststroke, freestyle, butterfly and backstroke races).

She topped the timesheets throughout the preliminary, last-16 and quarter-finals for the women’s 50m breaststroke.

The Singapore SEA Games 100m breaststroke gold medallist stopped the clock twice at 31.83 in the preliminary and quarter-finals.

Erika’s campaign came to an end after she was placed 11th in the last-16 (33.45).

“Jinq En swam three 50m breaststroke races and two over 100m distances ... but she managed them well,” said Birmingham.

Hungary’s Katinka Hosszu, Zimbabwe’s Kirsty Coventry and Chad Le Clos of South Africa are among the Olympic gold medallists competing at the first stop of the Mare Nostrum Tour.

The next two meets are in Canet-en-Roussillon, France (June 8-9) and in Barcelona, Spain (June 11-12).

Selamat Berpuasa

To all our Muslim parents, swimmers, coaches and friends,

"Selamat menjalankan ibadah puasa"

IBSC Committee

Pre-Comp Trial Class on 4 June 2016

The Pre-Comp Trial class was run successfully today at Kompleks Renang Kuala Lumpur with participation of more than a dozen eager kids who have pre-registered for the free program.

Young swimmers mostly aged 5-9 were assessed physically on a few basic tests to determine their flexibility.  They were then taken to the pool for some basic swimming tests involving all the 4 strokes.

Some senior and experienced IBSC swimmers, Sebastian Soon, Justin Yap and Yeong Zhen Yi, have also volunteered to demonstrate some exercises and swimming drills.

Most of the young kids did fairly well whilst some have yet to master some difficult strokes but overall these group of kids have displayed good swimming potentials and totally trainable to excel in future.

The pre-comp classes will train young learners the proper techniques of swimming and geared towards competitive training for future competitions.

Coach Hisham (in blue) and Coach Kamal (in red) assessing the flexibility of the learners

Swimmers doing shoulder flex

Young learners eager to show how they swim the strokes they have learned

With the support from Persatuan Renang Amatur Kuala Lumpur and the guidance of IBSC coaches, the trial class has proceeded smoothly. We wish to thank Coach Kamarudin and Coach Hisham for their time and expertise.

For enquiry please email ibsc.swimmers@gmail.com

1st ASUM/NSC/MILO Mid-Long Distance Swimming Championships 2016

Please be informed that an invite has been received from Persatuan Renang Amatur Kuala Lumpur for the 1st ASUM/NSC/MILO Mid-Long Distance Swimming Championships 2016 during the next school holidays.

The meet information is as follows :

Date	:	16th – 17th September, 2016
Venue	:	Kompleks Renang Kuala Lumpur, Bandar Tun Razak
Organizer	:	Kuala Lumpur Amateur Swimming Association (PRAKL)
Auspices	:	Amateur Swimming Union of Malaysia
Rules	:	FINA Rules Applies
Age of Reckoning	:	As of 1st January 2016
Team Manager Meeting	:	7:30am, 16th September, 2016
Entries	:	No limit to the number of swimmers or events that can  be participated, subject to the Rules
Closing Date (PRAKL)	:	5.00pm on Thursday, 25 August, 2016

Please see invite and competition rules here.

IBSC swimmers may download the internal entry forms via link below. Please be mindful of the different forms for different age groups. Kindly submit your form complete with payment to the IBSC office or coaches before 19 August, 2016 (Friday).

IBSC Entry Forms

Thank you.
IBSC Swim Committee

Full Results of SportExcel 2016, Leg 2 at Shah Alam

Congratulations to Team IBSC for being the top club at SportExcel Junior Swimming Circuit Leg 2, Shah Alam with 2265 points.

IBSC also has the most medals collection with 12 gold, 13 silver and 8 bronze. WELL DONE!

Combined team scored for participating  clubs 

Medal Tally

View Full Results of Leg 2

The Star : Golden outing for Jordan in Asian Schools Swimming Championships

BY LIM TEIK HUAT


PETALING JAYA: Jordan Yip returned with the only gold for Malaysia at the Asian Schools Swimming Championships in Indonesia.

The 17-year-old emerged victorious in the boys’ 100m backstroke after posting 59.22 in Tuesday’s final in Palembang. He also managed to erase the meet record of 57.59 set in 2014.

Thai Tarit Thongchumsin finished second in 59.49. Indonesia’s Anugrah Dwiki clocked 59.60 to take the bronze.

There was no hint that Jordan was going to win the gold as he was only the third fastest going into the final after clocking 1:00.25. Tarit was the favourite with a time of 59.76 followed by Anugrah in 1:00.18.

It was an impressive outing for Jordan as he also bagged one silver and one bronze for Malaysia in the four-day championships.

Jordan was second in the 200m individual medley in 2:12.04 and clocked 57.37 to earn a bronze in the 100m butterfly.

Malaysia also picked up another three bronzes through Elynn Tan Yilin in the girls’ 50m freestyle (26.90) and 100m freestyle (1:04.28) and Ng Yi Hao in the boys’ 200m breaststroke (2:22.45).

Boosted by his good showing in Indonesia, Jordan is now hopeful of making the podium in next month’s Malaysia Games (Sukma) in Kuching next month.

“It will be my second Sukma. I failed to win any medals in 2014. This time, I hope to win some medals for Selangor. But it will be hard to win the backstroke events as national swimmer Tern Jian Han is the favourite,” said Jordan, whose favourite swimmer is Kosuke Hagino of Japan.

“I am targeting the 200m individual medley gold and perhaps the 100m butterfly,” added Jordan, who bagged 12 out of 15 golds at stake in his age-group at the MSSM (national schools) Swimming Championships in Shah Alam in March this year.

IBSC re-emerged as top club in SportExcel Leg2

The SportExcel Junior Swimming Circuit 2016, Leg 2 was held at Pusat Akuatik Darul Ehsan, Shah Alam just last weekend on 28-29 May, 2016.

It isn't really surprising that a whooping numbers of 950 swimmers from 37 clubs joined the Leg 2 as school holidays just commenced. IBSC registered doubled the number of swimmers compared to Leg 1, in Melaka, and has a team of 110 swimmers led by several coaches.

The meet progressed well with the organiser running a 10-lane meet and by the end of day 1, it was rather obvious IBSC was leading the race.

Team IBSC is proud to re-emerge as the top club with most points, having accumulated 2265 points ahead of PADE Supersharkz in 2nd position (1518 points) and DSA in third placing (1438 points).

In terms of medal tally, IBSC also took the lead with 12 gold, 13 silver and 8 bronze in its coffer.

We couldn't have done it without the determination of the swimmers. 37 IBSC swimmers helped to shoveled points from the pool in every event they swam and their point achievements are displayed below.

See Full Results of Leg 2 here.

Li Wei, happy to repeat her medals collection spree at Leg 2, with 3 gold, 1 silver, 3 bronze and scored highest of 182 points for the Club

Ken Ji with his continuous improvement swam very well to cut his PBs and accumulated 165 points with 1 gold, 2 silver and 1 bronze.

Zachary Lim stretching to flex his muscle, managed 1 gold and 2  silver with 164.5 points

Sebastian Soon, achieved 3 gold and 1 silver, collected 162 points in total 

Again, we wish to thank the Team Managers, Mr Vincent Low  and En. Nizarudin for managing the kids at the pool. Parents volunteers have also been very helpful in organising food and snacks to feed the team.

The dedicated coaches have done well again in grooming the swimmers to achieve another rounds of PBs raising the bar higher for each levels. Well done!

Those who have scored sufficient points from Leg 1 & Leg 2 and make the cut of top 24 swimmers for each event will have a chance to advance to SportExcel Junior Swimming Circuit 2016, Grand Final to be held at Kompleks Renang Kuala Lumpur on 13-14 August, 2016.

The finalist list will be made known by ASUM later.

CONGRATULATIONS to all medalists and points earners.

Coach Daniel Lee and Coach Shazali monitoring times of swimmers

Kids happy to mingle around while waiting for their events

Sharizan Shazali

Kids getting ready in the Marshal Room in jovial mood

Destin, Zun Jet and Benjamin

More photos at IBSC Gallery

*photos courtesy of IBSC parents